Saturday, May 5, 2012

While in Pittsburgh for Craft Beer Week I decided to stop in to a new establishment called Industry Public House. On tap, they had two house brews, one of which was the IPA, and I ordered a glass. My server indicated that this beer was brewed by Full Pint Brewing. The beer pours an orange-amber color with a thin bubbly white head. The aroma consists of orange, tangerine, lemon, grapefruit, and pine. The taste is bitter and citrusy with lots of grapefruit, tangerine, and lemon with a pine and pepper finish. After tasting the beer, I think it was a renamed Chinookie IPA. The alcohol content of Chinookie IPA is 6.2% ABV, so I would assume this to be the same. I love the Chinookie IPA, and Industry Public House sells their house beers for $3 during sporting events, making it a great deal.

While at Hough’s in Pittsburgh for Craft Beer Week, I ordered a glass of Lagunitas PILS Czech Style Pils while the Lagunitas representative was present. The beer pours a golden color with a thin filmy white head. I feel like there had been a larger head but it had subsided by the time I received the glass due to it sitting for a bit. The aroma consists simply of grass and caramel and isn’t overly complex. The taste is dry and grassy with some pine accents sitting atop a light caramel and toffee backbone. The alcohol content is 6.2% ABV. This wasn’t an overly complex beer or too daring, but it was easily drinkable and much more enjoyable of those industrial American pilsners.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Occasionally, I will do a re-review of a beer if it was from my beer tasting infancy days and I don’t feel that I fully captured the beer. This Lagunitas IPA review is one of them. I ordered a glass while at Point Brugge in Pittsburgh during Craft Beer Week. The beer pours an amber color with a frothy white head that leaves a thin lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of fresh citrus, lemon, resiny funky hops, rainwater, orange, and candisugar. The taste brings some toffee and caramel on the front end before lemon, pine, and orange take over with a bitterness. A grassy and peppery hop after taste lingers behind. The alcohol content is 6.2% ABV. I was blown away by the aroma and the freshness attributed to it. The taste was also pretty good, but I kept coming back to the resiny and fresh rainwater aroma that was enjoyable throughout the experience.

I went to Troegs after they posted that they had tapped Scratch 62- Spring IPA. This was their first dance with Summit Hops. The beer pours a golden amber color with a frothy eggshell colored head that leaves a thick lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of lemon, orange, grass clippings, pine, and caramel. The taste is bitter and refreshing with grass, lemon, caramel, and orange flavors on the front end. The finish has a hint of onion dryness and a light toffee accent. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. This was a great IPA offering from Troegs, and I hope they continue the use of Summit Hops. Refreshing citrus flavors blended very well with grass and onion dryness, and it was the perfect outdoor spring beer.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

My buddy Rich sent me a bottle of Drake’s Brewing Denogginizer as part of our beer trade. The beer pours a dark amber color with a frothy cream colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, tangerine, grapefruit, pine, and spruce. The taste is sweet at first with caramel before some bitter citrus flavors kick in on the tongue. Tangerine and grapefruit are prominent and orange provides a little bit of support. Pepper, pine, and spruce are left behind on the tongue. The alcohol content is 9.75% ABV. This was a solid Imperial IPA with a strong caramel base that is balanced very well with bold citrus flavors.

My buddy Bob gave me a bottle of New Glarus Thumbprint Barley Wine to try. The beer pours an amber color with a frothy white head that is about a finger’s width. The aroma consists of raisin, orange, fig, caramel, pepper, and lemon. The taste is fruit forward with orange, lemon, and fig with a bold caramel base. A spicy pepper finish comes out with a warming alcohol burn on the finish. The alcohol content is 12.0% ABV. I liked how fruity this beer was, and the nice warming alcohol burn really helped the soul.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

I picked up a bottle of Saranac High Peaks Imperial IPA from a bottle shop in Ithaca following the LeBleu release. The beer pours a copper color with an extremely lofty and frothy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, orange, tangerine, lemon, and pepper, but definitely errs on the sweet side of those aromas rather than the bitter side. The taste is more bitter than the aroma suggests, but not overly so. There is orange, tangerine, and a hint of grapefruit. The base is built upon caramel and toffee, with a pine and pepper finish. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. So, this beer was not the most bitter Imperial IPA or most complex, but for $2 per bottle that I paid, it was a good deal. Saranac usually doesn’t blow me away, but makes an affordable and drinkable beer. This beer is right down that alley, but it does come through with some bitterness on the finish.

I received a bottle of Marin Brewing Company Point Reyes Porter from my buddy Rich in San Diego. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan colored head that leaves a nice lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of chocolate, lots of toasted malts, caramel, and vanilla. The taste is dry and toasty with a very toasted malt forward profile. Dark chocolate holds up the backbone of this beer, and a light grassy hop accent. A bit of a vanilla and caramel sweetness pokes through to smooth out the beer. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. This was a great robust porter with plenty of toasted malt flavors and a dark chocolate background. It was thoroughly enjoyable beer and I would definitely get another bottle if I was given the chance.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

My buddy Matt picked up a four-pack of Sixpoint The Crisp Lager so we could make beer can chicken with it, and of course we drank it as well. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of lemon, caramel, and grass. The taste is light and crisp (I know, it’s the name of the beer) with a solid caramel base. Hints of lemon, honey, and grass comes out and dry the mouth slightly. The alcohol content is 5.4% ABV. This was a solid German-style Pilsner with a great caramel base and wonderful grassy hops.

I ordered a bottle of Jester King Noble King Hoppy Farmhouse Ale from Michael Jackson’s Rare Beer of the Month Club. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of orange, hay, straw, lemon peel, and pepper. The taste is light and refreshing with the citrus flavors of orange and lemon. A peppery and lemon hop bite kicks in on the finish, leaving a dry hay and straw flavor on the tongue. The alcohol content is 5.9% ABV. For a farmhouse ale, this beer definitely delivered on its hoppy promise. The citrus flavors that take over the profile are quite refreshing, and this was a great warm weather beer.

Monday, April 30, 2012

On the way home from Ithaca, my buddies and I decided to get dinner at Selin’s Grove Brewing Company. The first beer I ordered was the new Black IPA. The beer pours a dark brown color with a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of lemon, chocolate, pine, and caramel. The taste is smooth and chocolaty at first with some caramel and lemon accents. Pine and pepper spice up the finish and it is a little dry as roasted malts linger behind. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would estimate it to be about 7.0% ABV. This was a wonderful example of the Black IPA style with great balance, a hop forward profile, and a solid chocolate and toasted malt backbone.

I ordered a glass of Selin’s Grove Snake Drive Stout on cask on a recent visit to Selin’s Grove Brewing Company. The beer pours a dark brown color with a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of toasted malts, chocolate, vanilla, and caramel. The taste is smooth and chocolaty with a nice toasted malt balance. A bitter dark chocolate finish with a lemon and pepper hop bite rounds out the flavor with caramel and vanilla lingering behind. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. The Snake Drive Stout was a well done dry stout with lots of bitter chocolate flavor. Having it on cask really brought out all of the flavors, including the light hop balance.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Another beer I tried on a recent visit to Bullfrog Brewery was the Hopsphyxiation, and I love the name of this beer. The beer pours an orange-gold color with a foamy white head that leaves a solid lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of tangerine, grapefruit, orange, and spruce. The taste is bitter and citrusy with lots of orange, tangerine, grapefruit, and some sugar accents. The finish brings out pepper, pine, and spruce culminating in a bitter after taste lingers. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would estimate it to be approximately 7.5% ABV. This was a bitter and citrusy beer that really put my tongue in heaven with the variety of flavors and their stranglehold on the palate.

On the way home from Ithaca, my buddies and I decided to stop in to Bullfrog Brewery for a few drinks. The first beer I ordered was the Mucho Mocha, a rye beer aged with Kenyan coffee. The beer pours an opaque dark brown color with a frothy beige head. The aroma consists of strong coffee, rye, chocolate, vanilla, milk, and cream. The taste is strong with coffee, lots of cream, and mocha. It reminded me of an Arby's Jamocha Milkshake. Chocolate, toasted malts, and caramel finish the beer, leaving behind a dry rye after taste. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would guess it to be about 7.0% ABV. The mocha and coffee flavors in this beer were incredible and I couldn’t get enough of this beer. I would say it is worth the trip alone if you wanted to try it.